Seven Day Knife Amnesty

Nottinghamshire Police are running a seven-day knife amnesty as part of the national knife crime campaign Operation Sceptre.

It starts today, Monday 17th September and runs until midnight on Sunday 23rd September and will involve red knife amnesty bins being located at a 13 police stations and partner agency receptions across Nottinghamshire, subject to confirmation.

We will be encouraging members of the public to hand over their unwanted knives at nominated locations, without fear of prosecution for doing so, for the duration of the operation.

The aim is to prevent knives falling into the hands of criminals.

Assistant Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: "The majority of people who hand in knives are likely to be law-abiding people who have found weapons in their lofts, have old war bayonets they want to dispose of and knives that they no longer want around the house. However, the amnesty will allow them to hand them in and take them out of circulation so they can’t fall into the wrong hands.

"We want the process of handing them in to be as simple as possible for everyone so there will be no paperwork to fill in. People will simply drop them in the bins and leave, and we will collect them all up at the end of the week and destroy them.

"This partnership approach shows that we are stronger when we work together on this issue which impacts on the communities we all serve." The amnesty - the first in Nottinghamshire since 2013 - will also be supported by highlighting other ongoing work the force engages in throughout the year to tackle knife crime, including test purchases. All Chief Inspectors have a plan for this week within their areas of business.